The Last Song” by Nicholas Sparks was an inspiring story. Like many other books of Sparks, the characters relate to his audience. The main character, Ronnie, started off as a sassy girl who despised her father. As the story progressed however, she became an independent woman and learned to cope with what life had to offer her. Throughout the novel, Sparks tells the story of Ronnie’s visit to her father and along the way adds drama and romance. Ronnie’s character is very dynamic with every flip of a page.
While reading the book, the audience finds themselves growing more and more attached to Ronnie. I can feel the way she feels and understand how the story changes from viewpoints. Sparks does a good job emphasizing how Ronnie copes with the troubles she faces as she spends the summer at her father's house.
Ronnie's character interested me because she is very strong. She is able to go about every day doing things that average teenage girls would not think of doing. For example, when she arrived at her dad's house they went to the carnival/ fair and instead of staying with her dad and brother she ventured off by herself. Even though this city was new to her she wasn't afraid of getting lost and almost seemed like she knew where she was going and what she was going to do.
As the novel goes on, Ronnie encounters a new group of people who she begins to associate with. Along the way she makes close ties with a gothic girl named Blaze. Blaze is currently dating a rebel, Marcus. Marcus is then attracted to Ronnie and tries to flirt with her many times. Ronnie's character seems like a strong and brave character at some points but sometimes she can feel very vulnerable. There are times when she is rebellious towards her father and other times when she is a caring daughter.
Ronnie was previously a great pianist that had much talent. Following in the footsteps of her father until he left her which caused much hate for her father. In the book, Ronnie's father is constantly playing the piano. She suspects this action as a hint that he wishes for her to return to playing the piano as well. In the end her concious is wrong and her dad is the one left heart broken.
"She put her hands on her hips waiting for him to stop. He didn't. [...] 'You can't keep me locked up all summer,' she said. 'It's not going to happen.' Her dad glanced up, though he continued to play." (73)
Here, Ronnie finds her dad playing the piano, (once again) and suspects that he is trying to persuade her to play as well. She feels no shame in giving her father attitude because her excuse is him leaving the family.
Ronnie's character is complex. Sometimes the audience can feel empathy for her but other times her actions cause her to have a bad reputation. As the story goes on, Ronnie's character changes dramatically. In the beginning, Sparks creates her character as a metal/punk rock type of girl that hated the idea of spending time with her dad. She gets in a lot of trouble with the authorities and another crime could put her in greater trouble. As a reault, she does get herself into a situation in which she was the victim/suspect. Being framed for shoplifting, Ronnie came to a point in her life in which she was not able to do everything by herself. She needed help.
Along the way her father supported her no matter how hard it was to allow her to go out every day and not come back home till the very last hours of the day. When this incident of shoplifting occured, Ronnie's father was forced to believe that her argument that she didn't do it was true. He did. This turned things around in the book dramatically. Why has Steve, Ronnie's dad, created such a big trust for her? Isn't it bad parenting to allow your child to roam freely everyday. I mean that is how she first got in to the shoplifting incident. Steve allows Ronnie to do these things because he wasn't there in her life and to show his sorryness (I'm having a brain fart and can't think of another word but I know there is one) he lets her do basically whatever she wants. Also in the book Sparks emphasizes many times Steve's love for Ronnie.
"He fell asleep almost immediately but woke an hour later.Tiptoeing outside again, he went to check on the daughter he loved more than life itself."(122)
When Ronnie encountered the support from her father telling her that he believed she had not committed the crime, it gave her more trust for her dad. Later on in the book their friendship began to grow and it changed the way Ronnie acted. She was no longer a rebellious girl. She changed and became more soft. This helped later on when meeting Will, the boy she loves..
While reading the book, the audience finds themselves growing more and more attached to Ronnie. I can feel the way she feels and understand how the story changes from viewpoints. Sparks does a good job emphasizing how Ronnie copes with the troubles she faces as she spends the summer at her father's house.
Ronnie's character interested me because she is very strong. She is able to go about every day doing things that average teenage girls would not think of doing. For example, when she arrived at her dad's house they went to the carnival/ fair and instead of staying with her dad and brother she ventured off by herself. Even though this city was new to her she wasn't afraid of getting lost and almost seemed like she knew where she was going and what she was going to do.
As the novel goes on, Ronnie encounters a new group of people who she begins to associate with. Along the way she makes close ties with a gothic girl named Blaze. Blaze is currently dating a rebel, Marcus. Marcus is then attracted to Ronnie and tries to flirt with her many times. Ronnie's character seems like a strong and brave character at some points but sometimes she can feel very vulnerable. There are times when she is rebellious towards her father and other times when she is a caring daughter.
Ronnie was previously a great pianist that had much talent. Following in the footsteps of her father until he left her which caused much hate for her father. In the book, Ronnie's father is constantly playing the piano. She suspects this action as a hint that he wishes for her to return to playing the piano as well. In the end her concious is wrong and her dad is the one left heart broken.
"She put her hands on her hips waiting for him to stop. He didn't. [...] 'You can't keep me locked up all summer,' she said. 'It's not going to happen.' Her dad glanced up, though he continued to play." (73)
Here, Ronnie finds her dad playing the piano, (once again) and suspects that he is trying to persuade her to play as well. She feels no shame in giving her father attitude because her excuse is him leaving the family.
Ronnie's character is complex. Sometimes the audience can feel empathy for her but other times her actions cause her to have a bad reputation. As the story goes on, Ronnie's character changes dramatically. In the beginning, Sparks creates her character as a metal/punk rock type of girl that hated the idea of spending time with her dad. She gets in a lot of trouble with the authorities and another crime could put her in greater trouble. As a reault, she does get herself into a situation in which she was the victim/suspect. Being framed for shoplifting, Ronnie came to a point in her life in which she was not able to do everything by herself. She needed help.
Along the way her father supported her no matter how hard it was to allow her to go out every day and not come back home till the very last hours of the day. When this incident of shoplifting occured, Ronnie's father was forced to believe that her argument that she didn't do it was true. He did. This turned things around in the book dramatically. Why has Steve, Ronnie's dad, created such a big trust for her? Isn't it bad parenting to allow your child to roam freely everyday. I mean that is how she first got in to the shoplifting incident. Steve allows Ronnie to do these things because he wasn't there in her life and to show his sorryness (I'm having a brain fart and can't think of another word but I know there is one) he lets her do basically whatever she wants. Also in the book Sparks emphasizes many times Steve's love for Ronnie.
"He fell asleep almost immediately but woke an hour later.Tiptoeing outside again, he went to check on the daughter he loved more than life itself."(122)
When Ronnie encountered the support from her father telling her that he believed she had not committed the crime, it gave her more trust for her dad. Later on in the book their friendship began to grow and it changed the way Ronnie acted. She was no longer a rebellious girl. She changed and became more soft. This helped later on when meeting Will, the boy she loves..
Hola Melissa, Tony thinks Melissa should include TAGS in her introduction, so that readers can get a basic understanding of what the book was about. Tony also thinks that you could relate some of what Ronnie does in the book to what some teenagers do everyday. Other than that, this was a pretty good book review.
ReplyDeleteI agree that you need to add the TAGS in the introduction of your review. That would help the audience understand what the book was about. It would be more clear if you differentiated between the questions that you answered.I would like to hear a more detailed summary at the beginning of the post so I could understand the plot better.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the previous comments on the TAGS, but othwer than that, it's a good post. The TAGS though is just the main thing, so make sure you add a descriptive one.
ReplyDelete